Second meetings, second chances
by bandtogetherandfight
Summary: Two fluffy St. Berry moments. Written for the St. Berry Change the World challenge.


_I tried really hard to do fluff, but, I have to say, I miss my angst!  
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_Written for the St. Berry Change the World challenge, because I wanted to try to write the song from Rachel's perspective. Enjoy!_

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><p>I.<p>

Their (second) first date is perfect, and they couldn't have planned it better if they had tried.

He had been living in Manhattan for two months by then, and had just stumbled upon his new favorite place in the city: a tiny hole in the wall record store in the Village with a friendly, but not too attentive, owner.

The store was small enough that when she walked in, they had spotted each other instantaneously, the obvious parallel to the first time they had met causing them both to smile.

She comments on the Ray Charles record he's already holding, and he's the one that actually finds the old Streisand album she ends up at the register with.

They're still making small talk when they get in line to pay. He's getting a celebratory present for himself for landing a role in an Off-Broadway play; she's simply killing a post-midterms Saturday afternoon.

She's taking out her wallet when Ronny, the owner, aims a suggestive look at Jesse and tells them that all records are buy one, get one half off. With a smile, but without a word, Rachel grabs his record and pays for both, which makes Ronny and Jesse laugh.

"So now I owe you fifteen dollars," Jesse tells her in a low voice, though Ronny can still hear every word. "Isn't that how much one of your no foam, no whip, soy latte things cost?"

"Just about," she says with a smile, handing him his bag. "There's a great place around the corner…"

He takes a stray hair off the front of her coat, dropping it to the floor. "Lead the way."

They spend a couple of hours at the coffeeshop, talking about everything they've been up to since they last saw each other at Nationals her junior year. For him, college in Chicago, local theater, and the move to New York, for her, a leading role in her sophomore year at NYU, stellar grades, and a life as far away from Lima as she could get.

Their conversation is easy and relaxed, and they talk until she looks at her phone and says, somewhat cryptically, that she has dinner plans and has to go.

She gives him her number and he promises he will call, but she doesn't make it ten steps towards the door before she turns back towards him, nervously shoving her hands inside the pockets of her coat.

What the hell, she thinks; no more regrets.

"My dads are flying in this afternoon, and I'm meeting them for dinner. We're going to try and get tickets to Mormon. It's a little… atypical, but if you're interested… I know they would love to see you."

He can hear the nerves in her voice, and it only makes her cuter.

"Meeting your parents already?" he asks teasingly, already gathering up his stuff to leave.

She rolls her eyes. "You've already met them."

Later, as they're standing with their backs against the wall of the Eugene O'Neill, (they weren't kidding when they said standing room only), he inches his fingers along the wall until he meets hers.

With a sly glance at her parents, who she is sure are watching their every move, she holds his hand just as the theater goes dark and the orchestra starts to play.

II.

He drives back home with her for the college graduation party her dads throw her, which also serves as their official 'we're a couple again' introduction to the old Lima crowd.

(That's another story.)

Afterward, he's managed to snag a bottle of the champagne (well, Leroy gave it to him. Her dads adore him), and they're lying on top of the picnic table in the back yard, gazing up at the stars, both of them more than a little drunk. Well, she's a lot more drunk than he is.

It feels like the night for secrets.

"What's one thing you've never told me?" she prompts him, speaking way too loudly; having to try twice to get the bottle to sit steadily on the tabletop.

He thinks for a minute, during which she's giggling and tapping her fingers against his thigh.

"The first night we spent at your apartment, I looked through your Itunes library to see when the last time you played 'Hello' was."

She beams at him. "I love that song!"

He kisses her on the cheek, chuckling at her inability to be quiet. "Apparently; you've played it enough times."

He grabs the bottle and takes a swig, which is a really really difficult thing to do when you're lying down. "What about you? What secrets have you never told me?" He wiggles his eyebrows. "Preferably dirty ones."

She reaches up to play with the curls right by his ear. "I still have nightmares," she whispers. "About that night at Nationals, when I kissed Finn."

He stills immediately, not expecting the serious nature of her answer, realizing suddenly that this may have been what her game was all about.

"I have dreams … about showing you my heart ... so that you could see the truth, just how much I loved you. But then I wake up and it's only in my dream." She takes a deep breath. "If I could change the world..."

"That's the last time we watch _Phenomenon_ before bed, Rach. You just quote-sang Clapton to me."

She slaps his chest. "I am being serious," she admonishes him, sounding anything but. "It's my one great regret."

He laughs, shifting himself so that he's on top of her, ignoring for the present that her dads are somewhere inside the house.

"We're together now, drama queen," he reminds her. "So quit the nightmares. And you need to come up with another secret."

She closes her eyes and then opens them, looking directly into his. " I found the ring."

"You weren't supposed to…"

"That's why it's my secret, silly," she teases, before going suddenly serious. "I wanted to tell you about the nightmares before we got married. You need to know. Even then, I loved you."

"I knew," he tells her, putting aside his disappointment that she had discovered his surprise. "Even then, I knew."

She smiles a dazzling smile. "It's really pretty. I took a picture. Everyone likes it: my dads, Kurt, Blaine, Santana, Ronny… He's going to dj the wedding. The Eugene O'Neill says we have to get married on a Monday if we want to use the theater."

"Rachel!" he scolds, but really, he should have expected it. "You've already talked to people about our wedding?"

She shrugs. "What's the big deal? I'm going to say yes," she promises solemnly. "So hurry up and ask."


End file.
